MONTICELLO – A Monticello drug dealer was resentenced in Sullivan County Court by Judge Frank LaBuda to 24 years in state prison and five years of post-release supervision for criminal possession of drugs as a felony, and 12 years in prison with three years of post-release supervision, also as a felony, on another drug charge. Both sentences will run concurrently.
Robert “Bam-Bam” Jones, 43, was convicted by a jury in a
2005 trial prosecuted by then-DA Steven Lungen. He was found to have possessed
12 ounces of cocaine, 60 decks of heroin and over $8,000 in cash following
an investigation into drug distribution by Monticello Police.
Jones was said to be one of the largest cocaine and heroin dealers in Sullivan County at the time.
Monticello Police estimated the street value of the drugs found in Jones’ possession to be about $40,000.
In 2006, LaBuda sentenced Jones to 25 years to life in prison under the state’s three strikes criminal policy, but Jones later argued that the Rockefeller Drug Law Reform Act eliminated persistent felony offender and three strikes treatment for drug offenders.
After extensive legal arguments, it was decided to resentence Jones.
District Attorney James Farrell said he “strongly” disagrees with elimination of three strikes treatment for drug offenders, “especially in a climate where dangerous drugs are wreaking so much havoc on our communities – ripping apart families and destroying lives.” Farrell said the state legislature should revisit the change, noting someone like Jones had four drug related convictions and adjudications with various sentences.
